Bottle closure



W. W. MASON BOTTLE CLOSURE Dec. 17, 1929.

Filed Jan. 1.5 192sl WIW . Il n 4 3 mentor Wesley ".jason/i Gttorneg Patented Dec. 17, 1929 UNITED sTTEs WESLEY W. MASON, F BALTIIVIORE, MARYLAND BOTTLE CLOSURE Application led January 13, 1928. Serial No. 246,519.

'Ihis invention relates to bottle closures and more particularly to caps for milk bottles, having for its object to provide a` construction cheap to manufacture and more eficient in use than those heretofore proposed. lfVith these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel details of construction and combinations of parts as will be more fully hereinafter disclosed and partieularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specifcation'in which like numerals designate like parts in all the views- Fi 1 is a plan view illustratin how the memers forming this cap are cut rom sheet material;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a completed Cap;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken as on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the cap with the lifting tab in raised position;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view illustrating the removal of the cap from its seat on a bottle; and

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the two discs with which the cap is formed.

In order that this invention may be the better understood it is said that heretofore there have been produced closures for milk bottles consistin of pasteboard discs adapted to fit within te neck of the bottle but a great problem has arisen in providing an etlicient means for removing the tightly fitting disc cap. Discs have been provided with a split portion serving as a tab that could be grasped by the fingers'but this type has been unsuccessful in that the tab would pull away from the rest of the disc, and other means would then have to be sought to remove the closure. A remedy was thought found in providing a reinforcement such as a wire staple at the joint between the split portion constituting the tab and the main body portion of the-disc, but this made necessary an extra step in the manufacture of the discs with resultant increase in cost and, further, added thickness 50 to the dise so that they would not stack well in the capping machines. Also, discs were provided with a tab which was formed by cutting entirely through the material but these, too, have been found unsuccessful in that dirt, dust and other impurities found a way through the cut into the contents of the bottle. Lastly discs were produced having a small auxiliary .piece of heavy paper or light cardboard attached at one end thereof as by a wire staple to the disc proper, but these were rapidly discarded as they caused untold trouble in the capping machines. By this invention there is produced a cap which forms a tight closure and which is provided with novel means for assisting in the removal 'thereof which is eicient, economical and positive in action.

This cap may be produced by cutting from suitable sheet material 1 a, pair of discs each of general and equal circular formation. One of these discs 2 is formed with a cutaway portion or radial extending recess 3 and the other disc 4 is formed with a tab 5 extending outwardly from said disc in a radial direction, but the length of the tab 5 75 is a dimension less than the radial dimension of the recess 3 of the companion disc 2,- for a purpose presently to appear. The tab 5 and f the recess '3 are or may be conveniently formed simultaneously in thecutting of the discs from the sheet material l, as will be apparent from Fig. 1 of the drawings. l

The discs 2 and 4 are then passed through suitable apparatus, not shown but'well understood in the bottle cap industry, `for applying hot parain thereto and then united in superposed relation so that the hot paraffin will adhere them together in circular registry. This union of the discs 2- and 4 is so carried out that the tab 5 of the latter isV 90 bent or folded and then pressed into the recess 3 of the former, the hot paraiiin also serving to adhere said tab in said position to the surface of its main body portion to which f is secured the other disc, all as will be readily ,95

understood, to produce the finished cap shown in Fig-2. In forming the completed cap the folding of the tab 5 produces a hinge 6 at the fold which, it is to be observed, is of the same material as the disc 4, and said hinge is located jin the circular periphery of space and a slight upward pressure applied to the end of the tab 5 which is sufficient to loosen the same from its parained seat.

vThe ltab is then gripped between the lingers,

an upward pull exerted and the `entire cap readily removed from the bottle as shown in Fig. 5. In other words, the h'ot paraffin will cement the discs 2 'and 4 unyieldingly together due to the large ysurface area therebetween, but the tab 5 will be held within the cut-awa portion 3 in yieldable adherent relation ue to the relatively small surface area ofsaid tab. n

The advantages of this cap will be apparent but it might be stated that chief thereof is the fact that the entire removal lifting force is applied .at the periphery or edge of the cap, so that air is admitted to they container just as soon as the edge of the cap is moved. This prevents the forming of any negative pressure or semi-vacuum within the container, which occurs when caps are removed by an upward central pull resulting in the usual pop as the cap finally leaves its seat. Also, the entire lifting of this cap is from the bottom necessitating. all the cap coming Iaway from the container, and the tab 5 is an integral part ofthe cap whereby a strong joint between the two prevents the-usual tearing of the tab away from its supporting member. Lastly, the tab is of the same thickness as the u per recessed disc 2, so that as produced the finished cap is o fthe same thickness throughout or, in other words has no protuberances, resultin in a smooth and even piling of the caps in t e device for sealing the bottles.

It is obvious that those skilled in the art may vary the details of construction as well as arrangements of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention, and it is 'therefore not desired to be limited to the above disclosure except as may be required by the claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A closure for a bottle the same comprising a lower member adapted to fit the neck of said bottle; an upper member superposed on said lower member and vprovided with a peripheral cut-away portion; and atab integral with and extending radially from said lower member said tab adapted to lie wholly within said cut away portion when said memb ers are assembled.

2. A bottle closure the same comprising a lower member adapted to fit the neck of said bottle, an upper member secured to the lower member and formed with a cut-away portion having parallel sides extending inwardly from the edge of said member, and a tab integrally formed with and extending radially from said lower member said tab adapted when folded and yieldably secured to said member to fit and lie within said cut-away portion.

3. A bottle closure the same comprising a lower member adapted to fit the neck of said bottle, an upper member secured to the lower member and formed with a cut-away portion having parallel sides extending inwardly from the edge of said member to provide'weakened peripheral engagement of said member with said bottle adjacent said portion, and a tab integrally formed with and eX- tending radially from said lower member, said tab adapted when folded and yieldably secured to said member to fit and lie within said cut-away portion whereby the closure will be substantially reinforced as a whole but weakened in the periphery of the upper member adjacent the tab to permit ready removal from the bottle.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

WESLEY W. MASON. 

